U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceDefinition This indicator identifies the prevalence and population trend of species at risk of being threatened with extinction, with an emphasis on at-risk species that are of a regional conservation need. It prioritizes areas based on the rarity-weighted richness of those Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) which are not listed as Threatened or Endangered by the ESA or G1 or G2 imperiled species. Pixels can take the following values: 1 - Lowest rarity-weighted richness values 2 - Low rarity-weighted richness values 3 - Slightly low rarity-weighted richness values 4 - Slightly high rarity-weighted richness values 5 - High rarity-weighted richness values 6 - Highest rarity-weighted richness values Selection This indicator was chosen as a targetable, important feature of the MLI goals that will be used to track conditions over time and prioritize areas for conservation. Indicators were defined through elicitation and prioritization exercises with federal and state participants. Criteria for the indicators includes 1) actionable, 2) measurable, 3) relevant to multiple groups across the region, and/or 4) representative of other social and/or environmental values. Input Data & Mapping Steps This indicator originates from the Midwest Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) database and the USGS Gap Analysis Project (GAP). To create this layer, MLI partners, members, and staff completed the following mapping steps: projected all input data to NAD83 (2011) UTM Zone 15N, calculated the range-weighted rarity of each RSGCN GAP model by dividing the raster value by the percent of blueprint extent covered by the species, mosaicked all input rasters into a single rarity-weighted richness layer, and reclassified the layer into the following values: 1 - Lowest rarity-weighted richness values, 2 - Low rarity-weighted richness values, 3 - Slightly low rarity-weighted richness values, 4 - Slightly high rarity-weighted richness values, 5 - High rarity-weighted richness values, and 6 - Highest rarity-weighted richness values. Finally, we removed highly altered areas using our Highly Altered Areas mask. For full mapping details, please refer to the Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process . For a complete download of all Blueprint input and output data, visit the Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download.ArcGIS ImageMapLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/34f3468839834c18bc93a66c2be05343engU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open DataPublicAt-Risk Species - RSGCN (Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Indicator) [United States]Web servicesUnited States2026